.JPG)
Winkler Bible Camp hosted their annual Family Fun Days on May 31st and June 1st, with over 2,000 people in attendance over the course of the weekend. While the hot temperatures drew many people to the camp’s beach and lake, the community explored virtually every aspect the camp had to offer.
Beginning as a single-day event in 2022, Family Fun Days has expanded into a weekend event at the camp. For families in the community, the camp opening their doors for a weekend offers a glimpse into what the camp offers as its summer camp programming.
“People’s stories keep happening”
Co-executive directors Candace and Dale Wiebe have been running Winkler Bible Camp for 24 years, and over that time they have seen campers in the community grow. “Every year I am reminded of how much impact the camp has on the community,” Dale shared. “People’s stories keep happening... Seeing people come to camp and then get married and now their kids are coming to camp”.
Growing and changing through the years
It’s not just in recent memory that the camp has been remembered fondly. The camp celebrated their 75th anniversary last year, and Dale shared “People say I was there in 1952 or 1953, or I was there the first year camp opened... it’s pretty cool and it was important to them then. And they still remember it, 75 years later."
In those 75 years, the camp has undergone major renovations and improvements. Building new bathrooms has been at the top of the list in recent years, along with expanding the petting zoo and water activities at the lake. This need for expansion has come along with rising summer camp enrollment rates- the original bathrooms, built in the 70s, were made with the summer enrolment of 800 campers in mind. Now, the camp is projecting around 2400 campers over the course of the summer, with new bathroom and shower facilities to match growing enrolment numbers.
"Seeing lives changed”
Dale and Candace work together to help the camp grow. For Dale, it’s the work that he enjoys the most: “...building this place for this ministry to happen is a big, fun, piece for me.” “I’m the part of dreaming, he’s the doer” shared Candace. The couple have also seen years of campers and staff, with Candace noting that her favourite part of working at Winkler Bible Camp is “seeing lives changed...seeing the summer team that comes, and when they come back and you see how they’ve grown, how they’ve grown in their faith, how they’ve matured.”
For Brooklyn Krahn, cabin leader and occasional activity lead, the camp’s Leadership Development Program has been an opportunity to grow in her faith and as a leader. “It’s a good opportunity to just learn a lot more about God... to show these kids love.” She shared. “It’s really fun.” Her personal highlights from summer camp include the chapel time: “you get really hyped up and you sing, and it’s a lot of fun.”
Gearing up for the summer
Steve Klassen, Winkler Bible Camp assistant executive director, has noticed that this event has drawn in “...lots of people who haven’t been here before. Families testing it out for the first time, or first-time families who’ve signed up for camp, who want to check it out as a family.” While the eight-week camp period is filling up with around 2400 campers so far, Klassen shared that there still is space available: “...we always are hopeful to fill those spots with campers.”
For more information about Winkler Bible Camp and their summer camp programs, visit their website here.
